The chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the organisation's managers, says that one in four patients are occupying hospital beds when they could be recovering at home. Mike Farrar argued that it was time for ministers to be "honest about the issues, bold about the solutions and decisive in taking action" to address the challenges of a squeezed budget and ageing population. He criticised an "outdated hospital model of care".

Concerns have been raised, however, about the ability of community-based services to cope with an increased number of patients needing support as they recover outside hospital. It has been argued that cuts to these are partly responsible for the phenonmenon of "bed-blocking" in the first place.

Do you have personal experience of hospital, or home recovery? Do you believe moves to send patients home quickly, where there's no compelling medical reason for them to remain, serve their best interests?